In addition to making eye exams part of your
routine health care, follow these tips to maintain
healthy vision now and as you age:

Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Loading up on fruits and vegetables can help keep
your eyes healthy and disease free. Dark, leafy
greens such as spinach, kale, and collard greens,
which are good for your overall health and
well-being, are especially good for eye health. Eye
health benefits also come from eating fish that are
high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, tuna,
and halibut.

Maintain a healthy weight. Being
overweight increases your risk for diabetes.
Diabetes complications, such as diabetic retinopathy
or glaucoma, can eventually lead to vision loss.

Donít smoke. Smoking is as bad
for your eyes as it is for the rest of your body.
Smoking increases your risk for age-related macular
degeneration, cataract, and other eye diseases and
conditions that can damage the optic nerve.

Wear sunglasses and a brimmed hat when
outdoors. Protecting your eyes from the
sunís ultraviolet rays when you are outdoors is
vital for your eye health. Choose sunglasses that
block 99 to 100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B
radiation.

The National Eye Institute (NEI), one of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the federal
governmentís principal agency for vision research,
offers additional eye health information and tips
for people to protect their vision as they age.
Visit
www.nei.nih.gov/agingeye to learn more.